SJX Watches
A Rising Tide Lifts TAG Heuer’s Carrera Seafarer
TAG Heuer rides the vintage reissue wave with the Carrera Seafarer, a chronograph that tracks the tides with a quirky mechanical complication originally developed for the American retailer Abercrombie & Fitch in the early 1950s. Delivered in the brand’s popular ‘Glassbox’ case, the sun-bleached aesthetic features a champagne-coloured dial and Intrepid Teal accents to capture the spirit of mid-century maritime instruments in a modern, wearable package. Initial thoughts The past year has shown that TAG Heuer is doubling down on technical credibility. The brand launched carbon hairsprings that are now ready for mass production as an alternative to silicon hairsprings, and the brand has also regained the coveted position as the official timekeeper of Formula 1. Furthering its bid to recapture lost magic, the Seafarer is a modern Carrera ‘Glassbox’ infused with the immense charm of the original Seafarer models signed by Abercrombie & Fitch. The Carrera Seafarer is powered by the modern TH20-04 movement, derived from the TH20-00, that’s been tweaked to show the times of high and low tide using a mechanism likely adapted from a moon phase indictor. While still reliant on the simplistic concept developed for the 1950s models, the complication’s gear ratios have been refined and modernised by TAG Heuer engineers. As a result, the Seafarer displays the local tide times for a given place, serving as a proper tool watch for birdwatchers, anglers and fishermen in gene...